Jermaine O'Neal's career, viewed in hindsight, takes on the shape of a slasher film. He got the rawest cosmic deal of his generation. He sat in Portland, flourished in Indiana, and suffered through an aborted phantom season that could have seen him realize new heights. Then he started to get hurt all the time.

RealGM Wiretap

Masai Ujiri Says 'Still Plenty Of Work To Be Done' In Repairing Relationship With DeMar DeRozan

Apr 14, 2020 1:31 AM

Masai Ujiri said while his relationship with Dwane Casey has improved, he still has to do "plenty of work" in repairing his relationship with DeMar DeRozan.

"It's not easy. If you have that human part of you, you feel it in your heart. ... With Casey, it has gotten so much better now with his family and him. With DeMar there is still plenty of work to be done. But, by the grace of God, it will all get better. We have to continue to make these decisions that are tough. But that's the business of basketball, and the position that we are in," Ujiri told Ernie Johnson in an interview.

Ujiri fired Casey and traded DeRozan in the 2018 offseason.

He admitted that transactions put a strain on personal relationships.

"I always say that the two hardest things in our world, in our business, is trading a player and then when a player leaves, if a player leaves in free agency. And it's hard on both sides. When a player is traded, it is hard on the player side, and when a player leaves, like us [with Leonard last summer], it is hard on that side. I've experienced all of it, from wonderful people. It sometimes puts a strain on relationships, as we saw with DeMar," said Ujiri.

Ujiri also expressed his support for how Adam Silver is handling the situation surrounding COVID-19, and that he was optimistic that the season would return.

"I know with all the input his leadership team with the NBA, and how he directs it, we will come up with something great. He's taking all our input. I am confident that we'll get back playing in some kind of way. We miss the game, man. We miss sports. We miss the game."